tokyo sushi

I almost got hit by a car yesterday. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been a life or death situation (which is likely why I didn't remember it again until just now), but it would have hurt.

I was walking home from working out at the gym, crossing a street on a green light, when a car failed to stop as it turned the corner. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, just like it does in the movies...it was pretty obvious that the driver didn't see me. From the split second or two when I looked up, it looked as if she was in la-la land, pretty distracted. Maybe she had just broken up with her boyfriend, or was wondering what was going to happen on the next episode of Temptation Island, or was worrying about a school assignment (she looked pretty young).

I ended up jumping back to avoid being hit. The driver didn't even slow down...she made a fast, wide corner at the intersection, as if she had panicked and forgotten how to use the brakes. Then she kept driving. Of course I was too stunned to take note of the license number. I don't even recall what the car looked like, what colour, anything. There wasn't anyone else around.

So I just walked home, my heart beating a little faster, with a lot of "if's" circling in my head. What if I hadn't been paying attention? What if she had panicked a little more, circled wider so that I couldn't jump out of the way? Ififif. I wasn't even thinking that I could have been killed or seriously hurt...I remember thinking what a pain it would be if I had had to be taken to the hospital because I was so looking forward to teaching my new Waiting For Frodo song to Allison and Jodi at practice that night, and we only had two practices left until Ad Astra.

Okay, so maybe my priorities were a tad skewed. :-)

In a way, brushes with reality like that are good for the soul. I think we all purposely seek them out from time to time, just to remind ourselves we're alive: situations with an element of risk, that challenge us. I tend to avoid the kind where I can get seriously hurt. :-)

Anyway, I did end up making it to Urban Tapestry practice last night. We're performing in some panels at Ad Astra next month, so I lugged my guitar and flute and music to Richmond Hill...it's always a joy travelling on the subway with my gear in rush hour, trying to squeeze my stuff into the smallest space possible, getting dirty looks from commuters who are getting poked by various pieces of musical gear. The trip to Allison's and Jodi's area usually takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour; last night was 45 minutes (sure seemed like a lot longer).

Jodi, Allison and I tried a new sushi place that Jodi had discovered called Tokyo Sushi. The main thing that stood out about this place (for me, anyway) was the fact that each booth had a button you were supposed to push whenever you wanted service. Bizarre. They must hate it when families with little kids come in. The food was pretty good, though.

And Allison and Jodi did learn Waiting For Frodo! It sounds great, and they were even able to learn the extra counterpoint part I threw in at the end. Allison's going to add some additional counterpoint during the chorus, and I'm going to figure out a third harmony. This'll be a lot of fun to perform. :-)

Jodi, by the way, is looking for contract work. She found out yesterday that the company she is working for is doing some budget cuts, and part of this involves cutting her hours considerably.

Anyway, if you or anyone you know have contract work for an excellent online marketing specialist, please contact Jodi.

Writing update

Got two rejections yesterday, one by e-mail and one by snailmail. I sent out one of the rejected queries to a very similar market right away, but need to revamp the other one before sending it out again.